1. Technical Field
The invention is related to fluid animation, and more particularly to a system and process for adding a body of water to an image and generating a video therefrom having interactive water effects.
2. Background Art
Fluid animation is important for a wide range of applications, especially in the addition of a body of water to an image and simulation of wave or ripple motion across the surface of the water over a sequence of video frames. These animations are employed in images created for video games, special effects and the production of commercial advertising, among others. However, the field of computer graphics research has all but ignored fluid animation, owing at least in part to the difficulty of modeling fluids. Unlike solids, fluids do not have a readily definable shape, and the motion of fluid, such as the movement of a surface of a body of water in the presence of waves and ripples, is often complex. In the past, complicated physical models based on fluid dynamics have been attempted to model the motion of water. However, these methods tend to be computationally expensive and difficult to implement in real time. A relatively simple process for adding a body of water to an image and simulating its motion over a series of video frames, which produces visually realistic results, has eluded animators.
Fluid animation can be handled in many ways, one of which is through so-called surface techniques. The present invention is related to such surface techniques. Typically, these techniques involve modeling periodic waves or ripples on the surface of the water. However, current simulations tend to appear somewhat repetitive and quickly become boring. It is believed this is in large part due to a lack of interactive viewer involvement with the animation. In addition, as alluded to above, these simulation tend to be quite complex and processor intensive, owing in part to having to process each pixel of each frame of the video simulation. The present system and process addresses these issues.